Geek Speak Daily 8/20/11 “Rodians”

For the non-nerds: Rodians are green humanoid aliens that are easily recognizable by their giant black eyes, snout-like mouths, and pair of round antennae springing from the tops of their heads. Rodians are from the jungle planet, Rodia, in the Outer Rim Territories.

The most recognizable Rodian is Greedo, a henchmen of Jabba the Hutt, sent out to find Han Solo and get him to cough up the debts Solo owed Jabba. As is commonly known, Greedo made the mistake of pulling a blaster on Han. Han ended the confrontation with a well placed under-the-table shot.

When the Special Edition of Star Wars was released, the editors added in an effect that made it look as if Greedo took the first shot at Han…when in the original version, Han just shot Greedo dead. Much controversy was generated about whether this edit was acceptable, or not…leading to the trumpeted “Han Shot First” movement.

For the nerds: Long before they were discovered by the Galactic Republic, the Rodians were a fragmented hunting society. The ancient Rodians became experts at hunting and once the majority of predatory species were driven to extinction, the Rodians began to hunt one another. They banded into tribes and a dozen savage civil wars engulfed Rodia. Eventually, as the weaker tribes collapsed, only a handful of the strongest tribes remained on the planet. The leader of the strongest tribe proclaimed himself The Grand Protector of Rodia.

When initial contact with the Rodians was made, the Galactic Republic scouts sent to investigate Rodia quickly found themselves hunted by the Rodian tribes. Luckily, the Grand Protector at the time understood the benefits of being in a galactic society, and ordered the hunters to call off their attacks.

At first, the only way the Grand Protector allowed Rodians off-world was by competing in various challenges and blood-sports. Only then, would the most cunning and strongest Rodians be allowed to pursue careers that tailored to such individuals, such as bounty hunting, or being a mercenary.

Eventually, Rodians began to illegally flee Rodia and established themselves across the galaxy.

During the Yuuzhan Vong war, Rodia was invaded. The Vong enslaved the population and performed gruesome genetic experiments on those they had captured. The results of the experiments were the Vagh Rodiek, monstrous crab-like creatures. Once the war ended, the remaining Rodians returned to Rodia.